


Console

by alcyondile



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: A not-so-Valentines Valentines Special, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Just Itaru dorking out some and expressing his affection in between, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:48:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28767339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alcyondile/pseuds/alcyondile
Summary: Beneath the sparkly perfect prince charming façade at work and competitive die-hard dork persona at home, Mankai Company's resident gamer was hiding yet another secret identity, meant only for one, special pair of eyes to see.
Relationships: Chigasaki Itaru/Tachibana Izumi
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Console

**Author's Note:**

> Not the type of *insert title here* you initially thought of, that's for sure. Or maybe it is?

An unusually rainy evening is the fate that fell upon Veludo Way, this Valentine's Day. Unusual, for despite the nonexistence of bad weather forecasts, the millions of tiny water droplets the heavens were so badly shedding right now, caused the assumption of an unforeseen storm to rise. Both locals and tourists alike, who only roamed the town for a supposed nice evening date to complete the occasion, went desperately scrambling back for cover in the nearest waiting sheds, shop stores, and even make-shift stalls; hence, clearing the busy town empty of humanity at a speed that could have rivaled how quick sound travels through open space. However, just when the last few people have safely evacuated the damp and slippery streets, all of a sudden, the main entrance of the well-known Mankai Company Theater busted open; revealing a certain brunette of their director as she stood right in between the huge doors, wide-eyed. With anxiety written all over her face, she frantically scanned the entire area in sight, as if searching for something; or is it a _someone_? A split-second of skepticism then got the better of her once she noticed the low, heavy clouds that hung in the more blackened sky, paired with her lack of proper equipment to get through it. But she just knew that she can't back down now; for the very thing she had been taking care of all this time is on the line. Eventually spotting the person she was after and bracing herself to do whatever it takes to turn the tables her way, she broke into a run, totally oblivious of the rain; splashing onto muddy puddles with every step, soaking her feet wet. She paid them no mind at all, for a more urgent and pressing matter had to be taken cared of first.

"Wait!" She struggled to get that one word out of her, in the midst of all the running and panting.

A tall, slender man winced at her sudden cry, hinting the fact that he _is_ aware of someone going after him. Stopping in his tracks, with deep exasperated sighs escaping his lips, he turned to face Mankai's director, who now had herself doubled over after finally catching up to him. The heaviness of her breaths worsened because of the rain.

"Please wait," Her tone, obviously pleading. The man, in turn, responded with mere silence. The director then assumed her place to continue. "We can fix this. It's just a minor issue, after all. Just let me-"

"Tachibana Izumi-san." His voice, though sounds just as intimidating as he looks, somehow felt a little too evidently scripted.

"E-Eh?"

"Just what part of 'I'm cancelling the contract.' do you not understand?" He strode forward and took her breath away once more as he towered over her. "This isn't something we can mend with just sugar-coating our words."

"But that's not even..." She faltered and looked away; her unfinished sentence left hanging like the rain clouds in the night sky.

The ambience grew thicker and foggier. An eerie mist of unsaid guilt, evident shame, and perhaps second-hand envy slowly enveloped them both. Despite already having a little hunch that something fishy is going on, however, the Mankai director found herself allowing everything to slip away from her grasp, instead.

 _"What's the point of trying to win over someone who may or may not have been ordered to bring you down?"_ She miserably asked herself in her head.

"I'm sorry." Growing weary of the discomfort and uneasiness, the man blurted out suddenly; the earlier authority in his voice no longer there. The instant personality change confirmed the brunette's suspicions. "It's just- It's better if we forget about this whole contract-partner thing ever happening in the first place."

He quickly turned his back against her before bidding his farewell. "I-I wish you the best of luck in finding a substitute for me. Have a wonderful evening, Tachibana-san."

And he was gone.

Izumi exhaled what could have been the deepest sigh of disappointment ever made in the whole world. Sure, she was great at picking on the more sensual level of people, but seeing that her acting is as stiff as ever, it was a huge weakness of hers to be unable to directly voice out a distortion in a person's behavior with a straight face, especially if it involved concealing their true intentions. 

_"I always lose my voice whenever I need it most, it's almost not fair."_

As her sentiments, manifesting into the rain drops, pierced through her like daggers, she lifted her face up to the sky, eyes squeezed shut, while longing for the rain to somehow blend in the tears threatening to stream down her cheeks; but to her astonishment, it never came. How was that even possible, though? The sound of it crashing onto the asphalt rang loudly in her ears. She felt her face with her hands and surely, there were no new raindrops at all!

Eyes fluttering open in shock, a huge umbrella cap greeted her overhead. Well alright, no wonder she could not get wet. Silly director. But wait, who was holding the-

"Itaru?!"

Mankai's resident gaming freak simply hummed his reply to her sudden shrieking. She jerked back a good few inches away from him instinctively, and he, in turn, hastily brought the umbrella he was holding back over her head; clicking his tongue once at her cliché reaction.

"Oi! Stop going back out in the rain, you could get a cold, you know?"

"Okay, first of all, I am not getting myself any wetter than I already am. Second, you didn't need to tell me I'm getting a cold because I can feel it already happening. Third, I- WAIT! That isn't the point right now..."

"You're all over the place." Itaru wondered aloud, almost in awe.

"I-I'm not!" Izumi flailed her arms above her head and let out a very failed attempt at laughing it off. "I'm not at all..."

The blonde chuckled lightly and nudged her to come closer to him. "Yeah sure, says you."

"Ugh, anyway what brings you here? It's late night, shouldn't you be holed up in your room?" She asked as she rolled her eyes, wanting to move on. He then answered by showing her the box of pizza in his other hand. "I am. I just fetched this from the delivery guy. I'm starving."

"Oh." Izumi's shoulders slumped and her eyes trailed away. "Okay."

"And that's when I spotted you arguing with the gangster." Hating the possibility of their conversation ending with dead air, he kept it going as he turned to where the man from earlier went. "Was he your boyfriend or something?"

"EHHHHH!?!? Wh-what made you think that!?" Izumi felt her cheeks flush at such a presumption, but somehow managed to recompose herself before it was too late and everything else got awkward for the both of them. "He was just supposed to be a major sponsor for our upcoming play, but he backed down out of no where. I tried talking him back with us but it didn't turn out well."

As she went on rambling about the whole incident, she failed to notice just how lost Itaru seemed while he had his gaze locked on her. For him, there is definitely something in her that he found captivating ever since; and even more so the case right now as seeing her current state almost drove him nuts. Is it the way her damp bangs stuck onto the side of her face, perfectly framing her delicate features? Is it the way her words rolled so smoothly off of her tongue whenever she opens up to him about anything in general? Is it the way her mere presence already gets his heart racing a thousand laps in his chest? He was still unsure, to be honest. But the possibility of all those being true is high, that he cannot deny.

 _But then, is it also just me or Director's being too defensive about the sponsor gangster?"_ Itaru wondered mentally, but brushed the exact thought off just as quickly as it entered his mind. " _Oh well, doesn't matter anyway."_

Switching an old light bulb inside his geeky brain on, he quickly gathered up the pieces of an ever so challenging life puzzle he had long since discarded due to his lack of courage to face such a difficult battle head on, like he always does. He felt it was time to do it now, for if not when?

"Let's head back together so we can have you dry up and change."

Itaru slid his jacket off and placed it over Izumi's shoulders. The latter tried to protest, but the former insisted. Shifting his grip then on both the umbrella and the pizza, he offered an arm for her to hold onto and she obliged; already grateful enough for the warmth his body was emanating.

But little did she know of just how much warmer he was planning to make her feel during such a gloomy Valentine's evening as tonight.

\----------

"Itaru."

"Hm?"

"What are we doing?"

"Exactly what it looks like."

"That was a serious question, by the way."

Itaru froze; barely managing to face his companion, his expression utterly horrified.

"Did you seriously believe I was joking all this time?"

And to think he even went as far as using a tone that carried a hint of pain; making him sound like he was hurt. Impressive. Very impressive, indeed. He knew he just had to give himself the fact that he was greatly improving at this kind of thing. Too bad no one's buying it, though. 

"YES?! I mean, just WHAT, WHY, AND WHO in the world are we hiding from?!"

Alright well maybe, Izumi's frustration _is_ pretty valid and reasonable; one way or another. For who, in their right mind, wouldn't feel utterly dumbfounded after being pulled into an authentic nerdy gimmick out of the blue like this one right now? She most certainly cannot be blamed, at all.

"Whoa, watch out!" However, instead of giving into Izumi's puzzled looks and pleading nudges, Itaru completely ignored them all and resumed his passionate act. Instantly placing an arm above his director's head, it almost seemed like he was protecting her from some sort of danger. "GG, Itaru the Great." He praised himself once more before whispering into her ear; much to her shock. His voice, both so low and husky, sent the chills pulsing through her whole body. "Just be more careful next time Director, yeah?" 

"W-well, I definitely _would_ if I only knew what is going on-" 

"Or would you rather have me fill in the role of your official Knight-in-Shining-Armor to save you from the evil dragon keeping you locked up as its prisoner in a super tall tower?" He literally had no mercy at all. 

Izumi heaved out a loud and heavy groan. They were currently on their way back to Itaru's (well technically Chikage's too) room, after accepting his offer to join him snack on the delivery pizza he ordered since he claimed he was way too hot to finish it all by himself. Eventually reaching the courtyard, only then did they notice the rain had already ceased; though it won't take long until it began pouring again. So, seizing the opportunity to enjoy the brief calm of the night, Itaru decided to crank it up a notch; and what better way to do so than by pretending to be characters being chased down in a classic horror game! 

Now, with one hand gently supporting her back as he guided her around the perimeter, occasionally stopping for a second or two to see if anyone had noticed them; but the coast is fortunately clear, and he felt relieved. He would likewise glance back and forth between whatever is in front of him and whoever he was with; you know, so he could at least roughly get a hold of his boundaries just in case her reaction alerts him so. 

_"Hm, she's still pouting."_ Itaru then allowed himself a split-second to contort his face into his usual gamer frown. Couldn't afford to have it linger a while longer or else all his efforts were to drown miserably in vain. 

_"Jokes aside, merely wanting to dork around this late isn't the reason at all."_ He stole another glance at the director, before sighing ever so lightly. _"Let's say it's like a form of self-expression? Yeah, that sounds just about right."_

He had been too caught up in his own thoughts that he failed to realize his director's 'pouting' was actually due to her struggling to come up with a comeback that is just as convincing and relevant. 

Moments later... 

"Hello? Earth to Itaru!" Izumi started; her lips quivered, her whole body tense. She was indeed horrible at this, so remind her why did she even think of signing up on this in the first place, again? She had no idea. This was on mere impulse alone, apparently. "Uhm, there's like an invisible boulder? Yeah and it's uh, about to fall... I guess right above your head and- AH! In three, two..." 

"Take this! Hah!" Itaru, in turn, recklessly slashed the air with his arms multiple times, all the while imagining himself cutting through whatever object stands in his way. From where he was, although he had no eyes at the back of his head to monitor his companion's reaction, he eventually decided that he did not need them after hearing her suddenly break into a fit of laughter. The genuineness of which echoed through the empty, quiet space; traveling like pulses that sent both his blood and adrenaline rushing to every inch of his body. It somehow felt like an encouragement to carry on; so he did. "Cower in fear, lowly pests! Feast your eyes upon my power - the divine blessing of the gods! Behold!" 

And as the last bit of dust got dragged down by gravity, after what seemed like an eternity, he dusted his hands as if he had just finished doing something really extravagant and necessary to the well-being of society; looking absolutely content. He was definitely surprised, alright. No doubt about that. But of course, as a general rule, nothing and literally _nothing_ could stop him from being the dork he already is. Obviously. Anyway, what was Sakuya's catchphrase again? It seemed pretty fitting at times like this. Ah, yes. 

_"The show must go on."_

"C-close call...." Izumi then immediately looked away; her cheeks were flushed the shade of pink. Despite it, Itaru could clearly make out the little smile still lingering on her lips. Just thinking about it sent his hormones going wild again. But he had to keep them in check, of course. _~~At least, for now.~~ _

"Yeah sure, but look who's been enjoying herself nicely, eh? I didn't know you had it in you, Director." He nodded approvingly at her direction.

"I-It's not that I enjoyed it or anything!" She tried to reason her way out of the situation, but Itaru rolled his eyes and brushed all the sorry excuses she has yet to come up with, away; noting just how much she sucked at lying. Ignoring him is slowly becoming a habit she was tempted to learn.

"Now, now. We wouldn't want to scare Mr. Pizza slice with that death glare of yours, do we?" This time, it was her turn to roll her eyes at him again and he let out a small chuckle at the repetition. Offering an arm out in front of them, the gamer lead the rest of the way back to his room.

The mini-trip was as quick and quiet as the night could ever get. Likewise, with the heavens' new-found tranquility reigning over the scenery they were both so fortunate enough to be trapped in, the moon seemed to emit an even fainter glow yet also radiated a more nostalgic feel than usual; nonetheless still eagerly taking away the breath of anyone and everyone who dare lay their eyes upon it, though. The ItaIzu duo arrived at their final destination in no time. Thus, after informing the director that she can have the room all for herself to change since Chikage's out the entire night and her agreeing to it, time flew by even swifter than they could imagine. Setting up their little late night secret picnic on the only dry bench in the courtyard, sitting side by side under the view of the countless twinkling stars, and exchanging genuine laughs, random stories, and personal dreams they both had for the future, with almost little to no care of possible 'what' or 'who' interferences. It was indeed a surprisingly soothing experience that only the two of them shared; which somehow made the entire occasion a bit more special.

And as Izumi picked up another slice of curry-flavored pizza, shoving half of it straight into her mouth, Itaru figured it was time to execute the ultimate technique.

"Ah, Director?" The sudden interruption of her curry delight made her flinch. So, snapping her head back towards him and humming her response once their eyes met, he pointed plainly at his own cheek. "You have- just a little bit on the side."

"Oh!" She laid her slice down for a moment and tried poking her face to find the drop of sauce he was referring to. "Here?"

"No. Lower you finger for- Wait, that's too much. Missed. Missed again." Not long after directing her, he sighed. "Let me do it for you, then."

"Ugh, okay..." And she was too late. "Hold on, youdon'thaveto-"

_Chu~_

Once his long-awaited permission had been recklessly granted, Itaru closed the distance between him and the second half of his OTP, and in one swift move, delicately clutched her chin, brought her face towards his, and planted on her lips a kiss so soft neither of them almost barely felt it happen.

"ITARU?!"

"And it's gone~" He flashed her one of his notorious Prince Charming smiles and once again widened the gap in their seats; totally looking like what he just did wasn't so big of a deal at all. "GJ, ItaIzu FTW."

"Wh-wh-what exactly was that?!" Oh boy, her entire body was burning. This kind of heat almost tricked her brain into suddenly catching a fever. Well, not that it's entirely wrong though; for she would most likely have the flu right now if Itaru hadn't saved the day. But then again, the butterflies fluttering inside the pit of her stomach is completely overwhelming. "A-and no... No name plays whatsoever, please!"

"Haha, relax. No one even saw it." He even sounded so casual as well it made her more flustered.

"That's obviously not the point and you know it!" Izumi's ears fumed in shame so she turned a hundred and eighty degrees in order to avoid seeing his face and grow even more embarrassed. Itaru only laughed at her adorable bashfulness.

And then came the scariest part of every starting couple's love story. Silence. Dead air. Awkwardness. Luckily for this duo, it was short-lived; thanks to a certain someone's curiosity.

"Seriously though what was that for? You're being awfully nice to me tonight too, it's almost strange..."

"Well I suppose you ought to know." Itaru cleared his throat once again and stared longingly up at the skies. "You've been upset, right? About the stuff going on in the theater?"

"U-Uhm, yes? If you're talking about what happened earlier, well yeah, kinda..."

"Then isn't it an actor's duty to make their Director happy?"

Izumi glanced blankly at Itaru's smiling and awfully relaxed figure. How exactly was she going to respond to that? She had no idea. But giving a reply wasn't always a necessity, right? After all, there are some things better left unsaid. Realizing this, she exhaled once and likewise felt a sense of relief wash over her; along with a small smile making its way up to her lips.

Just then...

_Beep. Beep. Beep!_

It was Itaru's phone.

"What's up?" Izumi leaned in and peeked, her head almost - _almost_ \- touching his shoulder. He very much appreciated the initiative (even if it really wasn't one) and proceeded to shift on his seat so they could enjoy each other's warmth better.

"Just my game."

Three words. All it took was three nerdy words to have her jolting up in shock, and him frowning at the sudden break of physical contact for the second time; the only difference was that he no longer worried about hiding it. "Just? Your? Game? Aren't you supposed to be playing right now?! You also said you had an event to grind in..." Her voice gradually grew fainter as she realized what she just blurted out loud.

"Wow, seeing you remember that shows exactly how much you're into ItaIzu as I am." He glanced teasingly over his shoulder to look at her and from there, he met a pair of squinted eyes, matched with furrowed brows, and the pouting lips he had just claimed his own. Meanwhile, feeling blood rush up to her cheeks once more, she quickly averted her gaze in hopes of hiding her flustered self but failed miserably; much to his amusement. "Anyway, how can I? I don't have my console."

Her brows knitted further at his weird reasoning. "Don't you have tons of spare ones-"

"What ever do you mean, Princess? I just gave it to you."

. . .

"Pffft-"

"You did not just do that."

"The pun or the kiss?"

"ITARU!"

"Hahaha! Still, I can't believe you figured it out so quickly." He faked wiping an invisible tear and reached over to place his hand on top of her head, patting it gently. "Otsu~"

"HMPH!"

So this was his plan all along, huh? No wonder everything seemed way too good to be coincidence.

_"But still. I can't disregard the fact that he went out of his way for me. To be honest, this is worth more than what I give him credit for."_

Returning her sight back to where the moon sat perfectly on its throne at the very center of the sky, she noticed, though was unsure, that the stars surrounding it seemed to sparkle even brighter than earlier. Were they somehow rejoicing in behalf of her? It would be pretty funny if that's the case. She even found herself giggling at the possibility.

And as the first few rays of a brand new day slowly emerged from the horizon beyond, the already bickering couple knew that a life-long journey awaits them both. All that's left is to face it with their heads held high, together. Whether or not they successfully clear it with a complete set of stars, is solely up to how they level up their stats individually, and as a team.

_Grand Quest_   
_Stage 1_

Mission: Safely get across the faithfully persistent teenager and the strictly overprotective yakuza.  
Difficulty Level: Extreme  
Inventory: A phone, Empty pizza box, Wet folding umbrella

_"Accept Challenge?"_

_**Game start.** _

**Author's Note:**

> I tried? And I'm really sorry if I didn't do our best dork justice. T___T Regardless, please let me know what you think! Thank you!


End file.
